Cygnus Hyoga
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Cygnus Hyoga (氷河, "Ice River", more properly romanized as "Hyouga") is a main character in the manga/anime series Saint Seiya, by renowned manga-ka, Masami Kurumada. Hyoga is cold and calm by nature, which compliments his abilities as a saint. He was the second of the five main protagonists to be introduced.
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[edit] Statistics
- Age: 14
- Height: 173 cm
- Weight: 60 kg
- DOB: January 23rd
- Blood: O type
- Birth Place: Russia
- Trained: East Siberia
- Techniques: "Diamond Dust," "Kholodnyi Smerch," "Aurora Thunder Attack," "Aurora Execution"
- Seiyuu (1986-1991; 2002-2003; 2004): Hashimoto Kōichi (橋本晃一 , はしもと こういち)
- Seiyuu (2005-2006): Hiroaki Miura (三浦 祥朗, みうら ひろあき)
- Seiyuu: Satou Chie (佐藤 智恵, さとう ちえ) child Hyoga
- ADV Dub VA: Jason Douglas
[edit] Character Outline
[edit] The Saint of Cygnus
One of the truly interesting main characters in the series, Hyoga appears calm, collected, and unemotional. Beneath the surface, however, he is passionate and devoted to his ideals. As a saint born under the Cygnus constellation, Hyoga is able to control and manipulate ice and snow however he pleases. It is also implied that he is the first to wear the Cygnus Cloth in 10,000 years, as the cloth was previously concealed within an iceberg before Hyoga retrieved it.
[edit] Special Techniques
The Cygnus Saint's favorite technique is "Diamond Dust," a windy attack that blasts ice and snow at the opponent in a single, concentrated point.
In the original manga, Hyoga's strongest attack is the "Kholodnyi Smerch," a technique that captures his cosmos into a single tornado, of which is unleashed via an uppercut. In the anime, it is replaced by the "Aurora Thunder Attack," a move that is, in essence, a more powerful variation of "Diamond Dust." The "Aurora Thunder Attack" clasps both of Hyoga's hands together as he expels snow and ice at the opponent.
Later in the series, Hyoga learns "Aurora Execution" directly from battling his master, gold saint Camus of the Aquarius. "Aurora Execution" is a gold saint level technique that requires the user to have control over absolute zero, a point where everything becomes frozen. "Aurora Execution" is similar to "Aurora Thunder Attack" in execution.
Hyoga's defensive techniques include: an ice ring that surrounds and paralyzes the opponent; the ability to freeze the opponent's legs in order to immobilize them; and "Freezing Coffin," an attack that completely captures the enemy in a large block of ice. "Freezing Coffin" is infamous for its extreme defensive power -- unless they bear the weapons of the Libra Cloth, not even the combined efforts of several gold saints can shatter it.
[edit] The Bronze Cloth of Cygnus
While it is not as durable as the shield found on the Dragon Cloth, nor does it contain regenerative abilities like the Phoenix Cloth, the Cygnus Cloth is nevertheless revered as a premiere bronze cloth. Being that it had been encased in an unmelting iceberg years prior, it naturally absorbed the arctic properties of its surroundings. Thus, it is quite the feat for one to completely shatter it. Phoenix Ikki comments that it also had a "frost armor" effect, when he fought Hyoga and smashed a hole on Hyoga's chest guard, he felt his right wrist freeze.
[edit] The Gold Cloth of Aquarius
After the war against Sanctuary had passed, Hyoga obtained the privilege to wear his master's Aquarius Gold Cloth during times of extreme crisis. He, along with Pegasus Seiya and Dragon Shiryu, don gold cloths in the final confrontation against Poseidon. Later in the Hades arc, Hyoga is given the gold cloth to borrow once more when the five bronze saints battle Thanatos, the God of Death.
[edit] Notable People & Events
[edit] The Bronze Saints
In the manga, Hyoga originally did not choose to participate in the Graude Foundation's Galaxian Wars until he received an order from Sanctuary to assassinate the other bronze saints. He originally accepted this due to his hatred for the Graude Foundation, because he was aware that Mitsumasa Kido was his father. As he became more familiar with his subjects, Hyoga grew indecisive about his mission. Once silver saints began to target him along with the other bronze saints, however, he dropped his allegiance to Sanctuary. His rage towards Sanctuary boiled after his master Camus made an unexpected visit to Siberia to sent his mother's ship deep into the ocean's abyss.
This subplot is omitted in the anime; there, Hyoga competes with the same motivation as the other bronze saints -- to win the Gold Cloth of Sagittarius.
When the series began, Hyoga was depicted as cold and calculating, and he was often seen keeping distance from the other saints. During the battle with Phoenix Ikki, his tender side was revealed, and he slowly began to display his true personality. In the Sanctuary arc, Hyoga became close to Andromeda Shun after his comrad displayed an act of selflessness in attempt to revive his cosmos from death. In the Hades arc, Hyoga paired with Dragon Shiryu as the saints of Athena waged war against the Underworld.
[edit] Hyoga's Mother
The one person that forever lives in Hyoga mind is his deceased mother. She died when Hyoga was still very young, having drowned along with the other passengers on aboard a doomed cruise. The ship sunk into the icy ocean, where the rich minerals kept Hyoga's mother from rigor mortis. Throughout the Sanctuary arc, Hyoga is shown to visit his mother periodically by diving into the waters. Later on, the ship is sent deep into the ocean's graves as part of a final lesson from Hyoga's master, Camus of the Aquarius constellation.
Hyoga and his mother are both Christians, or at least put their faith in a deity different than the show's established Greek gods. This does not distract him from serving Athena, however. Hyoga wears a cross necklace that his mother passed down before she left on her journey.
In the manga, her name is revealed to be Natassia.
[edit] Jacob
A young child from the village where he and Hyoga lived. He is an ordinary child, and hangs out with Hyoga whenever he returns to Siberia. In the anime, he was the one to relay news of the Crystal Saint's sudden change of personality to Hyoga and Seiya.
[edit] The Crystal Saint
In the anime, Hyoga's master was the Crystal Saint, with Aquarius Camus being his master's sensei (thus, making the gold saint the equivalent of an idol in Hyoga's eyes). The Crystal Saint was a kind man, and his abilities hovered around silver saint level.
The Crystal Saint was first introduced in the Sanctuary arc, where he opposed the Pope Ares's actions against Saori Kido and her bronze saints. But before the Crystal Saint could speak out further, the Pope used his Emperor Demon Fist -- a technique that forced the victim to obey him against his will.
The Crystal Saint was then sent to assassinate Hyoga. A battle ensued between teacher and student, with Hyoga reluctantly landing the final blow. The strike knocked the Crystal Saint out of Ares's grasp, but proved fatal as well.
[edit] Aquarius Camus
In the manga, Hyoga was trained directly by Camus, the Gold Saint of Aquarius. In contrast with the Crystal Saint, Camus had a strict and cold personality, and his methods sometimes unorthodox. In one instance, in order to force Hyoga to abandon his emotional ties with his mother and become closer to mastering absolute zero, Camus created whirlpools and typhoons in the ocean where Hyoga's mother lie. To Hyoga's dismay, the storm caused the ship to sink deep into a part of the ocean out of Hyoga's reach.
Hyoga and Camus later met face to face in the Temple of Libra after the gold saint intervened in the Gemini Saint's "Another Dimension" attack. Here, Camus confirmed Hyoga's suspicious that he was responsible for sinking the ship. Enraged, Hyoga attacked his master, but was defeated after Camus revealed that Hyoga's emotional ties to his mother are still unsevered. Camus then encased Hyoga in a block of ice with his "Freezing Coffin" technique.
With the aid of the other bronze saints, the Cygnus became free and once again challenged Camus when they reached the Temple of Aquarius. After an epic battle, Hyoga's cosmos finally reached its summit and he challenged Camus with his own patented technique -- the "Aurora Execution." Both sides unleash the ice move at each another, and Camus falls -- but not before displaying satisfaction that Hyoga had mastered absolute zero.
In the Hades arc, Camus and Hyoga reunite once more after the gold saint was resurrected by Hades to do his bidding.
[edit] Natassia & Alexei
A side story from the manga. While in Siberia, Hyoga was invited to meet a group of warriors known as "The Blue Glide." According to Camus, they were a formidable group with abilities rivialing the saints. Alexei, the leader of this tribe, insisted that Hyoga help them in a plot to invade other parts of the world -- or face death. Hyoga, of course, refused on account of being one of Athena's saints, and a battle began. Unfortunately, Hyoga was doomed to lose, as he had not donned his Cygnus Cloth -- Alexei's "Blue Impulse" attack proved to be too much, and Hyoga was defeated. The Blue Glide then imprisoned the Cygnus Saint, with hopes that he would later reconsider.
Inside the dungeon of the Blue Glide's castle, Hyoga awoke to meet a young woman caring for him. She introduced herself as Natassia, a name that caught Hyoga by surprise. Natassia then begged Hyoga to stop Alexei from assassinating her father. As it turns out, her father was a man of peace, and abhorred using violence to solve problems. Alexei believed in the exact opposite, and vowed to kill his own father in other to further his own ambitions. Natassia, visibly shaken, threatened to commit suicide if her father's blood is spilled.
Sadly, she could not stop Alexei in time -- the deed had been done as he sliced his own father in half. With the Cygnus Cloth at his disposal (snuck inside by Jacob), Hyoga proceeded to escape his prison and locate Alexei. It wasn't long before the two discovered each other, and a second battle ensued. This time, the Blue Glide leader was easily defeated, and he regained his senses. Right then, Jacob rushed towards them with news of Natassia -- she had followed through with her promise, and was now sitting outside in the freezing ice storm, silently praying. A chunky layer of ice had formed on her body, and her body temperature lowered by the second. Hyoga quickly freed her with a punch, and Alexei picked up his sister as he repented for his deeds.
Grateful but curious, Alexei asked Hyoga why he saved his younger sister without hesitation. As he and Jacob walked away, Hyoga revealed that Natassia shared the same name as his deceased mother.
[edit] Kraken Isaac
Isaac was Hyoga's long lost friend from his younger days in Siberia. The two met when Hyoga first began his training in Siberia with Camus (or the Crystal Saint in the anime). Whereas Hyoga's primary motivation for sainthood was the ability to visit his deceased mother beneath the oceans, Isaac aspired to become a saint in order to rid the world of injustice and evil.
When Isaac found out Hyoga's true intentions five years later, he was infuriated -- but nevertheless felt compassion for his friend. On his first attempt to dive into the seas, Hyoga was hit with unnaturally powerful whirlpools. As Hyoga lost control, Isaac was overwhelmed with an uneasy feeling, and immediately rushed into the seas to search for his friend. He soon discovered an unconscious Hyoga entangled on the ship's net. Isaac picked up his comrad and began to swim to the surface -- until he, too, was caught by a similar whirlpool. Losing control, Isaac slammed into a sharp, jagged iceberg face first, losing his left eye as a result. With Hyoga still in his grasp, Isaac punched an opening through the ice with all of his cosmos. Using the last bit of energy, he tossed Hyoga back to the surface. A second whirlpool then pulled Isaac away, and the young man was seemingly lost forever. On the surface, Hyoga and his mentor presumed that Isaac did not survive.
Isaac made his return in the Poseidon arc, to Hyoga's shock. However, the Isaac that stood before him was no longer the righteous young man he knew from his training days -- he was now Kraken Isaac, one of Poseidon's seven generals of the seas. A long and deep scar ran from his eyebrow to his chin on the left side of his face. Isaac displayed resentment towards Hyoga for the lost of his eye, and for the lost of the Cygnus Cloth. Hyoga sympathized, and offered Isaac his own left eye to compensate for the Kraken's misery. The sea general gladly accepted and damaged Hyoga's eye- although not to the extent of blinding it. From this point on, Hyoga's left eye would be bandaged for the remainder of the series.
Now that the reunion was out of the way, Isaac quickly challenged Hyoga to a final showdown. At first, the bronze saint refused to fight his old friend, but soon he realized that Isaac's cosmos had been corrupted by the very thing he had once sworn to rid the world of. After an intense back-and-forth battle with the Cygnus's "Diamond Dust" and the Kraken's "Aurora Borealis," Hyoga, with the spirit of Camus guiding him, finally unleashed the "Aurora Execution" attack on Isaac. The sea general was promptly defeated.
With his dying breath, Isaac commended Hyoga's power, and the two reverted back to being good friends once more.
[edit] Saori Kido
The relationship between Hyoga and Saori Kido/Athena is platonic at best. In the manga, he was initially indifferent about Saori and the Graude Foundation, until she revealed herself to be the current reincarnation of the goddess Athena. Even then, he did not concern himself with matters of Sanctuary, until his master Camus directly challenged him in Siberia. From that point on, Hyoga decided to commit to his duty as one of Athena's 88 saints.
[edit] Evolution of the Cygnus Cloth
The Bronze Cloth of Cygnus constantly evolves to expand its durability and power. In both the manga and the anime, it changes shape a total of three times:
- When it is revived with the blood of Gold Saint Milo of the Scorpio Constellation.
- When the fresh blood of Athena recreates an otherwise unrepairable cloth.
- When Hyoga is able to heighten his cosmos to evolve the shattered Cygnus Cloth to God Cloth level in the fight against Hypnos, the God of Sleep.
[edit] Notes & Trivia
- Hyoga has an image song dedicated to him, titled "Diamond Dust." It was used during the flashback sequence where he is shown to be training with Isaac, during the Poseidon chapter of the anime.
- Prior to learning the "Aurora Execution" technique, Hyoga's strongest technique is either the "Kholodnyi Smerch" or "Aurora Thunder Attack," depending on the manga or anime version.
- Hyoga has had three potential love interests throughout the series: Natassia from the Blue Glide manga chapter, Ellie from the first Saint Seiya feature film, and Freya, Hilda's younger sister from the anime-only Asgard arc. Interestingly enough, the only female that could be considered canon (Natassia) does not actually appear in the anime.
- In the Spanish Saint Seiya parody Los Paladines del Horóscopo, the other characters think that Hyoga has an Oedipus complex, since he's obsessed with his mother.
| Saint Seiya characters | |
|---|---|
| Bronze Saints | |
|
Pegasus Seiya | Cygnus Hyoga | Dragon Shiryu | Andromeda Shun | Phoenix Ikki Unicorn Jabu | Lionet Ban | Wolf Nachi | Bear Geki | Hydra Ichi |
|
| Silver Saints | |
|
Lizard Misty | Centaurus Babel | Auriga Capella | Kerberos Dante | Crow Jamian | Hound Asterion | Whale Moses ("Kaitos Moses" in the anime) | Cepheus Daidalos | Perseus Algol | Musca Dio | Canis Major Sirius | Hercules Algethi | Eagle Marin | Ophiuchus Shaina | Lyra Orphée | Sagitta Tramy Tarantula Arachne | Lotus Agora | Pavo Shiva |
|
| Gold Saints | |
|
Aries Mu | Aries Shion | Taurus Aldebaran | Gemini Saga | Gemini Kanon | Cancer Deathmask | Leo Aiolia | Virgo Shaka | Libra Dohko | Scorpion Milo | Sagittarius Aiolos | Capricorn Shura | Aquarius Camus | Pisces Aphrodite |
|
| Asgard God Warriors | |
|
Phecda Gamma Thor | Alioth Epsilon Fenrir | Benetnasch Eta Mime | Megrez Delta Alberich | Merak Beta Hagen | Mizar Zeta Syd | Alcor Zeta Bud | Dubhe Alpha Siegfried |
|
| Poseidon's Marinas | |
|
Sea Horse Baian | Scylla Io | Chrysaor Krishna | Lymnades Casa | Kraken Isaac | Siren Sorento | Sea Dragon Kanon Mermaid Tetis |
|
| Hades' Specters | |
|
Wyvern Rhadamanthys | Griffin Minos | Garuda Aiacos Harpy Valentine |
